COVID-19 Research Areas & Opportunities

The University of Arkansas is leveraging research capabilities to address the various challenges caused by the novel coronavirus and its associated disease, COVID-19. This page provides an overview of the key areas where research is being performed. To contribute to these activities, please fill out the interest form.

View this presentation to see detailed slides on U of A researchers' COVID-19 interests.

For general information about COVID-19 research opportunities, please contact Kimberley Fuller.

Media, please direct all inquiries to Andy Albertson.

Community Impact

Team Leaders: Kelly Way (THES), Mervin Jebaraj (WCOB)

Aims:

  • Understand the impact of COVID-19 on Arkansas industry and related economy
  • Develop novel technologies to improve community health/reduce risk of infection spread during pandemic
  • Develop systems for improved community education around COVID-19
NIST Manufacturing USA National Emergency Assistance Program Due Date: Rolling $250,000 - $10 million. NIST invites applications from current Manufacturing USA institutes not receiving financial assistance under Section 1741(e) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. Projects may include medical countermeasures; non-medical countermeasures; leveraging institute capabilities to strengthen state and community resilience; grants to companies and technical support to accelerate productions of critical materials, equipment, and supplies; creation of additional production facilities; technology roadmapping for pandemic response and recovery; reshoring the manufacture of critical conventional drugs and ensuring supply chain for critical materials related to pandemic response; or workforce development and training for a skilled advanced manufacturing workforce.
Evidence for Action: Investigator-Initiated Research to Build a Culture of Health Rolling deadline. Evidence for Action (E4A), a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), funds research that expands the evidence needed to build a Culture of Health. A Culture of Health is broadly defined as one in which good health and well-being flourish across geographic, demographic, and social sectors; public and private decision-making is guided by the goal of fostering equitable communities; and everyone has the opportunity to make choices that lead to healthy lifestyles. RWJF’s Culture of Health Action Framework, which was developed to catalyze a national movement toward improved health, well-being, and equity, guides E4A’s program strategy.
Sloan Foundation Economic Institutions, Behavior, & Performance Behavioral Economics Applications and Foundations Projects in this sub-program study households and individuals, specifically the role of “choice architecture” on their economic decision-making. Research topics include: risk-taking and insurance markets; time inconsistencies and the annuity paradox; cognitive biases; behavioral applications to policy; experimental testing of nudges or other regulatory interventions; behavioral welfare economics; obfuscated markets; consumer finance; probabilities and perceptions of extreme events; behavioral foundations and heterogeneous agents in macroeconomics; etc.
Russell Sage Foundation Trustee (Research) Grants LOI: 5/21/2020 $175,000 For this deadline, RSF will only consider LOIs that satisfy at least one of the following criteria: The research is sotimely and time-sensitive that the project must start before April 1, 2021; or the research analyzes social, political, economic, or psychological disruptions resulting from the coronavirus crisis that affect social and living conditions in the United States.
Promoting Telehealth for Low-Income Consumers; COVID-19 Telehealth Program, Date applications accepted TBA. COVID-19 Telehealth Program: up to $1M per applicantConnected Care Pilot Program: $100M total. Federal Communications Commission establishes two programs: The COVID-19 Telehealth Program designed to help health care providers provide connected care services to patients at their homes or mobile locations in response to the novel Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and the Connected Care Pilot Program (Pilot Program) designed to examine how the Universal Service Fund can help support the trend towards connected care services to consumers, particularly for low-income Americans and veterans.
Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants USDA. Due date: July 13, 2020. $50,000-$1M. DLT Program provides financial assistance to enable and improve distance learning and telemedicine services in rural areas. DLT grant funds support the use of telecommunications-enabled information, audio and video equipment, and related advanced technologies by students, teachers, medical professionals, and rural residents. These grants are intended to increase rural access to education, training, and health care resources that are otherwise unavailable or limited in scope.

Indicate your interest in collaborating by submitting this form.

Modeling / Simulations

Team Leaders: Jack Cothren (GEOS),  Shengfan Zhang (INEG),  Kelly Sullivan (INEG), Justin Chimka (INEG), Burak Eksioglu (INEG)

Aims:

  • Develop simulation models to forecast spread of COVID-19, evaluate impact of interventions (such as social distancing), and predict impact on medical facilities
  • Create tools for improved medical decision-making (markov decision process) – survival analysis, predictive analytics and machine learning
  • Use informatics solutions to facilitate research on COVID-19 and advance the translation of research findings into diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program Applications to Address 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Heath Need Variable Budget. NCATS is particularly interested in projects focusing on the use of informatics solutions to diagnose cases and the use of CTSA-supported core resources (e.g., advanced scientific instruments, highly-specialized facilities, and regulatory expertise) to facilitate research on COVID-19 and advance the translation of research findings into diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) regarding the Availability of Urgent Competitive Revisions for Research on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the Causative Virus SARS-CoV-2 Applications accepted on a rolling basis until February 5, 2021.There is an urgent public health need to better understand SARS-CoV-2, particularly to improve the predictive quality of existing models of spread, diagnostics for measurement of transmission, susceptibility and recovery. NIGMS will accept the submission of applications for Competitive Revisions to active grants to address incorporation of data related to SARS-CoV-2 into ongoing research efforts to developpredictive models for the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other related infectious agents (all relevant grants).
Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID) 11/18/2020 The multi-agency Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases program supports research on the ecological, evolutionary, and social drivers that influence the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. The central theme of submitted projects must be the quantitative or computational understanding of pathogen transmission dynamics. The intent is discovery of principles of infectious disease transmission and testing mathematical or computational models that elucidate infectious disease systems. Projects should be broad, interdisciplinary efforts that go beyond the scope of typical studies.

 Indicate your interest in collaborating by submitting this form.

Health Worker Protection

Team Leader: Kristen Gibson (FDSC)

Aims:

  • Develop technologies to reduce cross-contamination while using shared medical equipment
  • Develop technologies to enable safe(r) use and re-use of critical PPE
REQUEST A USG CORONAWATCH MEETING To enable a rapid-response to the COVID-19 outbreak, BARDA has repurposed our existing TechWatch program to focus on COVID-19 medical countermeasures. If you or your company are developing a medical countermeasure, platform technology, or other innovative product in our mission space, you can engage BARDA and other PHEMCE partner agencies to gain technical feedback on what is presented and strategic input as to its relevance for our mission at a CoronaWatch/TechWatch meeting. [Also, under Community, Diagnostics]
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Development of Biomedical Technologies for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) June 5 or June 16, 2020. The National Institute of Biomedical Imagingand Bioengineering (NIBIB) is issuing this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to highlight the urgent need for accelerating the development, translation, and commercialization of technologies to address Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The NIBIB is seeking applications to develop life-saving technologies that can be ready for commercialization within one to two years. Example technologies include but are not limited to, technologies for training healthcare workers, technologies for protecting healthcare workers, first responders and caregivers, and high-confidence disinfection technologies.

 Indicate your interest in collaborating by submitting this form.

Logistics / Medical Supply Innovation

Team Leaders: Ashlea Milburn (INEG), Sandra Eksioglu (INEG), Burak Eksioglu (INEG)

Aims:

  • Develop optimization models for the distribution of life-saving equipment using existing networks
  • Identify novel pathways for the efficient, rapid distribution of medical supplies
  • Create methods to expand treatment capabilities of existing limited equipment
Building Capacity for National Public Health Institutes Due: 5/4/2020 Amount: $15M, up to 15 awards. Many NPHIs in low-resource countries need extensive resources and technical assistance as well as organizational strengthening to carry out core public health functions, including effective disease detection and response. Focusing efforts on building and strengthening NPHIs offers a long-term, sustainable solution for building global public health capacity, achieving global health security, and increasing public health impact.

 Indicate your interest in collaborating by submitting this form.

Diagnostics / Therapeutics / Vaccine Development

Team Leaders: Bob Beitle (CHEG), Ryan Tian (CHBC), Suresh Thallapuranam (CHBC)

Aims:

  • Evaluate methods to improve detection of COVID-19 viral RNA, protein or antibody in biological samples
  • Develop population-level testing methods
  • Identify novel therapeutic candidates
  • Identify innovative vaccine production methods
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Offers due 4/30/2020. Budget negotiated after white paper stage. BARDA. Diagnostic assay development, POC diagnostic, vaccine, therapeutics, immunomodulators or therapeutic targeting lung repair, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, respiratory protective devices, ventilators, advanced manufacturing technologies
Department of Energy Dear Colleague Letter Access to DOE resources. The DOE and the National Labs might contribute resources to help address COVID-19 through science and technology efforts and collaborations in the following areas: Developing high-throughput multiplex technologies to characterize virus-host interactions, determine phage resistance mechanisms in nature, identify the degree of specificity for each bacterial resistance mechanisms across diverse phage types, and understand the coevolution of hosts and their phages, which can ultimately be used to design better phage therapeutic treatments and tools for precision microbiome engineering.
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) regarding the Availability of Urgent Competitive Revisions for Research on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the Causative Virus SARS-CoV-2 Rolling through 2/5/2021. NIGMS will accept the submission of applications for Competitive Revisions to active grants to address only the following research areas of interest:Repurposing or modification of diagnostic tools currently under development to enable rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection (SBIR/STTR grants only).Rapid development of potential therapeautic agents for COVID-19 (SBIR/STTR only).
AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative (DDI) Due: 6/30/2020. Amount: $20M total AWS CREDIT. The AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative (DDI) provides support for innovation in rapid and accurate patient testing for 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and other diagnostic solutions to mitigate future outbreaks. The AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative supports AWS customers who are working to bring better, more accurate diagnostic solutions to market faster.
Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Therapeutic Pilot Studies Rolling basis beginning 4/6/2020.Looking for proposals that can be tested in single arm pilot studies (less than 20 patients) using approved medications that can be repurposed with the goal of improving outcomes for patients with COVID infections. Priority will be given to agents that are ready to use in humans and already have a known, and preferably, favorable safety profile. The research team needs to identify a clear mechanism by which the drug might dramatically turn down an autoamplifying loop in COVID19 infections or intercept the mediators of organ disease. It is important to identify a biomarker demonstrating the target pathway is being influenced by the therapy.
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Development of Biomedical Technologies for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) June 5 or June 16, 2020. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is issuing this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to highlight the urgent need for accelerating the development, translation, and commercialization of technologies to address Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The NIBIB is seeking applications to develop life-saving technologies that can be ready for commercialization within one to two years. Example technologies include, but are not limited to, non-contact sensing and imaging for rapid mass screening and vital sign assessment, POC diagnostics, etc.
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) regarding the Availability of Administrative Supplements for Tissue Chips Research on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Rolling basis from May 15, 2020 through January 25, 2022. Budgets are limited to no more than 25% total costs of the amount of the current parent award. NCATS is especially interested in research in the use of microphysiological systems or tissue chips in collecting and examining data on the risks and outcomes for COVID-19 infection, and advance the translation of research findings into diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. A multi-organ on chip approach is strongly encouraged though not required. Please document access to a BSL-3 facility or include scientific justification for use of alternative facilities, for example using an engineered a COVID-19 pseudovirus that expresses the key surface Spike protein, which mediates its entry into cells.This Notice announces the availability of administrative supplements for investigators and institutions funded through:
  • The NIH Microphysiological Systems (MPS) Program; or
  • SBIR/STTR-supported investigators, provided the award involves tissue chips; or
  • Microphysiological systems programs from across NIH

 Indicate your interest in collaborating by submitting this form.

Pathogenesis / Immunopathogenesis

Team Leaders: Douglas Rhoads (BISC), Mahmoud Moradi (CHBC)

Aims:

  • Define innate immune responses associated with COVID-19 resolution or severe COVID-19 disease
  • Evaluate genetics related to COVID-19 resistance and susceptibility
  • Examine virus structure to understand structural dynamics and binding behavior
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) regarding the Availability of Emergency Competitive Revisions for Research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Rolling basis through 03/25/2021. Application budgets should not exceed the annual amount of the current parent award. NIAID is particularly interested in projects focusing on viral natural history, pathogenicity, transmission, as well as projects developing medical countermeasures and suitable animal models for pre-clinical testing of vaccines and therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19.
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Availability of Urgent Competitive Revision Supplements on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) within the Mission of NIDDK Due date: 6/1/2020. Application budgets are limited to the current year direct cost budget, or $500,000 direct costs (whichever is less). In order to rapidly improve our understanding and available control measures for COVID-19, NIDDK is encouraging the submission of applications for Competitive Revisions to active grants to address a number of research areas of interest including, but not limited to, collection of biosamples that could inform the pathogenesis of COVID-19 associated kidney, gastrointestinal, or metabolic/endocrine diseases; studies togather data from health care systems and ongoing clinical trials; studies to identify risk factors and therapy modification; and studies to identify novel pathogenic pathways and potential translational targets for the development of kidney, gastrointestinal, endocrine and metabolic diseases associated with COVID-19 infection using relevant in vitro and in vivo studies of the kidney, gastrointestinal or endocrine/metabolism system.
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): NIEHS Support for Understanding the Impact of Environmental Exposures on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Application Due Dates for all programs: May 1, 2020; June 1, 2020; July 1, 2020; August 3, 2020; September 1, 2020; October 1, 2020; November 2, 2020; December 1, 2020; January 4, 2021; February 1, 2021; March 1, 2021; April 1, 2021; May 3, 2021. $275,000. NIEHS seeks to promote rapid understanding of the potential contributions of current and past exposure to environmental agents that may exacerbate COVID-19 susceptibility, disease severity, and progression. Examples of environmental exposures relevant to the NIEHS mission include: toxic chemicals, air pollutants, second hand tobacco smoke, e-cigarette vapors, metals, and other environmental chemical exposures that may impact health outcomes. In addition, some health outcomes that are linked to environmental exposures (asthma, diabetes, and other pulmonary, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases) are also risk factors for COVID-19. NIEHS is accepting applications addressing COVID-19 through the urgent competitive revision, and time-sensitive mechanisms.

Indicate your interest in collaborating by submitting this form.

Mental Health

Team Leaders: Stacy Makhanova (PSYC), Ivan Vargas (PSYC), Kevin Fitzpatrick (SOCI)

Aims:

  • Evaluate psychological response to the threat of COVID-19 (including impact on stress, anxiety, mood, sleep disorders)
  • Examine the effect of social distancing on mental well-being
  • Evaluate methods to reduce the negative mental health effects of the pandemic on society
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): NIA Availability of Administrative Supplements and Revision Supplements on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Applications accepted on a rolling basis to May 1, 2021. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will accept and consider support for applications for supplements and revisions to NIMH projects that fall within the scope of this announcement and are relevant to the mission and strategic priorities of the NIMH. Applications to examine how a disrupted workforce may adequately respond/adapt to and maintain services or provide additional care for new or worsening mental health needs and/or suicide risk in midlife and older age adults will be seen as a high priority.
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) regarding the Availability of Administrative Supplements and Urgent Competitive Revisions for Research on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Applications accepted on a rolling basis through March 31, 2021. $100,000 direct costs per year. Should the proposed research require a higher budget, the applicant should consult with the program official assigned to the parent award and include a strong justification for the larger budget in the supplement application. NIDA is especially interested in research collecting and examining data on the risks and outcomes for COVID-19 infection in individuals suffering from substance use disorders.
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) regarding the Availability of Administrative Supplements and Urgent Competitive Revisions for Mental Health Research on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Rolling basis through April 15, 2021. NIMH is encouraging the submission of applications to address the following areas of scientific interest (See NOSI for complete list): Alternatives to traditional services to meet emergent psychiatric needs; tools to enable health and social service workers to have real-time access to resources for case management and referral to medical/psychiatric treatment, as well as social support services; continuity of care and (re)connection to care for persons with serious mental disorders who experience disruption in services; interventions to prevent suicide among populations with less familiarity with or access to technological social connection; specific needs and circumstances of midlife and older adults, including individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease related dementias (AD/ADRD) and their healthcare providers and caregivers; onset and the course of anxiety and depression due to SDOH challenges (e.g., financial strain, housing insecurity, food insecurity, potential occupation-based exposure, etc.) exacerbated by COVID-19; point-of-care screening for COVID-19, brief mental health assessment, and referral for populations who are less likely to engage in mental health services; service delivery, telehealth, interactions between stress and social isolation on symptomatology, and increased risk for suicide as related to alcohol use in the general population and in under resourced communities (racial, ethnic and gender minorities; low socioeconomic, incarcerated, and homeless populations, etc).

 Indicate your interest in collaborating by submitting this form.

 

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